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        General >> Problems >> Autobox. Will this cattle grid ever end?
        
(Message started by: charlie_nutmeg on Nov 25^th, 2005, 8:34pm)

Title: Autobox. Will this cattle grid ever end?
Post by charlie_nutmeg on Nov 25^th, 2005, 8:34pm

Been a while since I was first conversing with this great site, which has been an invaluable resource. For this, I thank you all.

I bought my 2.3 auto estate about six months ago; knowing there was a problem with the car. Being as my other Granada estate gear box cooked and a need another large estate I bought this car thinking it was simply an unbalanced prop shaft and I was getting a good deal of car for a little money. After some research and the aid of this site I was to find I was dealing with the legendary cattle grid effect.
Living with this and customising my driving style to avoid the problem accruing I plodded on until funds permitted. Well this week I have paid a gearbox garage (Auto boxes Poole ltd, Nuffield Estate, Poole, Dorset.) to change the torque converter and seal.
I collected my car on Wednesday from the garage, was told all was sunny and roses. Drove home via a dual carriage way to do my own road test and at about 70mph a vibration again!!!! Though the vibrations were not a harsh as before still enough for a passenger to ask worriedly what was wrong with the car.
I phone the garage and arranged the for the garage owner to take it for a drive, he agreed that it still was not right and he wasn’t sure what was still causing the problem and the only solution was a complete gearbox rebuild costing £1000. He assured me that he had changed the torque converter and not just the seal.
So after discussing with him my unhappiness and understanding on his part there really was no guarantee that it would have rectify the fault, we settled with him giving me half my money back. He suggested it was probably due to lack of transmission oil pressure not locking the lock up piston onto the torque converter lock up plate properly.

Demoralised but undetermined to be beaten by this I bought a can of brake cleaner and set to cleaning the MAF sensor. It now drives as if it has an unbalanced prop shaft again, slightly different to pre-cleaned MAF sensor.

The void is just getting bigger. Can someone show me the way, please?
???

Title: Re: Autobox. Will this cattle grid ever end?
Post by gaz01gaz on Nov 25^th, 2005, 10:47pm

hi...maybe i can help.....i had a 1997 2.9 24valve and when it changed between 3 and 4 gear (o/d) it cattle gridded until one day i had no o/d.....i took it to my local trans specialist who said he needed to dismantle box to find prob...honest i thought ! well he found the o/d band and what it runs on?just cant think at mo what it was called had worn causing the said problem...i saw the worn parts and the box out of the car and on the bench so i knew he was being honest...i posted a big listing on here last year around this time..it cost me around £350.00 for the whole job!!!!!!!!hope this helps...gaz

Title: Re: Autobox. Will this cattle grid ever end?
Post by charlie_nutmeg on Nov 25^th, 2005, 11:52pm

Cheers Gaz. The problem is where does the rabbit hole end. I spoke to an Auto box expert in Norfolk near where I was working. He wanted £500 to change the torque converter and seal, but also said it might not cure the problem and £1200 to recondition. These Ford boxes seem such a lottery. The car isn’t worth that kind of money and it’s beyond my budget. When I spoke to a Ford dealer mechanic he said change the torque converter and seal and that would rectify the problem!! So what I so frustrated about this is, if the people who do this for a living are unsure of the cause so what hope do I have of solving this problem. If I get another box from a scrap yard what the likelihood it will sort the problem out. The guy who done the torque converter wants £200 to swap boxes.

Title: Re: Autobox. Will this cattle grid ever end?
Post by gaz01gaz on Nov 26^th, 2005, 9:20am

mmmmm..i had this dilemma,,i said to the trans techy ..look if its gonna cost a fortune then i will just sell it in auction so its no good tryin to fleece me! he said for £100 he will remove box find the fault and then its up to me,,,but if it was gonna cost too much he would refit box and the only charge to me would be the £100.00...this i did and it finnished up at £330 if i remember correctly...and what a smooth box...wow

Title: Re: Autobox. Will this cattle grid ever end?
Post by charlie_nutmeg on Nov 26^th, 2005, 1:24pm

Where did you have your box done Gaz?

Title: Re: Autobox. Will this cattle grid ever end?
Post by nic on Nov 26^th, 2005, 7:37pm

Gotta say mine has gone through luck reather than anything else. The metal pipes want and the box dumped its guts all over berties drive ;D.
So we changed the pipes with Hydraulic Rubber Hose and had to completely re fil the box and the vibe has gone, dont know if the new oil or what has fixed it, but its gone.

Title: Re: Autobox. Will this cattle grid ever end?
Post by gaz01gaz on Nov 26^th, 2005, 9:52pm

i used a company in sheffield......where are you????gaz

Title: Re: Autobox. Will this cattle grid ever end?
Post by charlie_nutmeg on Nov 28^th, 2005, 1:39pm

Seems probably the best thing to do is a rolling road and Diagnostic, before any gearbox removal.

Title: Re: Autobox. Will this cattle grid ever end?
Post by charlie_nutmeg on Dec 2^nd, 2005, 10:56am

Whats going on now? When it changes from first to second gear the engine revs and then there is an elapse before it drags into gear. The cattle grid is going back to how it was before I had the torque converter changed two weeks ago. I’ve cleaned the MAF, new torque converter and seal. What else does it want….. ??? :o